NAVY LAUNCHING ITS FIRST DRONE COPTER SQUADRON

Unmanned aircraft could eventually be on every ship

The lighter drone burns less gas and therefore can stay in the air longer than a traditional heavier helicopter, for which the fatigue of the crew also limits the length of a mission.

Harrison said he’s not versed on plans to arm the Fire Scouts.

One of their fixed-wing counterparts, the Predator flown by the Air Force, has been carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan for several years. But that craft needs an airport with a runway to take off and land.

Naval historian and analyst Norman Friedman said it’s possible the Navy could put Hellfire missiles on the Fire Scout, or other weapons. Also, the still-developing unmanned carrier jet, the X-47B, will be designed to carry arms.

“Supposing the war on terror continues for a long time, and people don’t accept us in their countries for basing,” said Friedman, author of the 2010 book “Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles: A New Kind of Carrier Aviation.”

“In that case, whatever is going to knock out theater operators in that war, is going to have to come from the sea.”

It’s a new era for the Navy, in regard to what the term “pilot” means. For the first time, enlisted personnel will be flying large aerial vehicles — mostly the province of officers throughout the 100-year history of naval aviation.

In contrast, the Air Force allows only officers to pilot its drones, according to people familiar with the operation.

The Navy’s new “pilot” sailors — probably first-class petty officers and above, Harrison said — will receive a five- to six-month training course.

The officers who are already helicopter pilots will get a shorter version, only five or six weeks.

In what may be viewed as a relief for some San Diegans, or a missed opportunity for others, the Navy will not fly these unmanned helicopters off of the North Island tarmac. The crafts will be trucked to the San Diego Naval Base to be craned aboard ships before deployment.

Harrison said it’s a safety precaution. These aircraft “aren’t bumper cars,” he said.

“San Diego is an extremely busy piece of air space,” he said. “So just from a risk-management perspective, it probably just makes more sense not to fly them here, if you don’t have to.”